I'm curious how accurate a source like: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_resul...
Because, if rent and utilities are 40% average higher here and you make 30% more by moving, it may not be as big of a raise as you think.
Because, if rent and utilities are 40% average higher here and you make 30% more by moving, it may not be as big of a raise as you think.
In both Toronto and Vancouver, the public transit is abysmal and, in my opinion, 20 years behind what the population requires. So you NEED a car, and for Toronto at least, the insurance will kill you due to Ontario's "no fault" law.
Our power infrastructure is crumbling as well. There was one point this summer where our power rates were temporarily jacked up by something like 300% due to an issue at a nuclear power station. A bad case of NIMBYism has delayed a gas power plant in the GTA, and the public company which manages power generation (Hydro One) recently sold a 60% stake to private investors. There is wide spread fear that the costs of power are going to skyrocket in the near future.
The US has tech hubs all over the country. Houston, Seattle, New York, San Francisco, and those are just the big ones. If living in the "core" of these cities is too expensive, it is quite feasible to live on the outskirts and use the public transit to commute into the city. San Fran is a bit of an exception to this, as I understand it, though.
I guess my point is, is that I have many many options in the States, whereas my hands are tied in Canada.
Have you actually lived in Vancouver?
I do. I agree with him - the transit system here is abysmal for the job it should be doing. We had a referendum this year to expand translink, but it failed.
Transit is moderately OK if you live in Vancouver-proper. But no one moves to Vancouver anymore because no one wants to raise a family in a 700 sqft apartment. Burquitlam/Richmond/Delta/Surrey? Forget about it; translink is awful there.
It's... Pretty damn good. Much better than Seattle/SF/SJ/Just about other city that's not NYC.
It is, however, a regional pastime to complain about it.
It's also worth mentioning that Vancouver is especially vulnerable to this problem because for 30 years now we've had 'sustainable development' policies in the city and the province that were mostly there to make it difficult for people to live south-east of the Fraser. Vancouver effectively has a 'green-belt'. Other cities would have built more highways and bridges to make it easier for people to live where they want; Vancouver tries to fix the game and incentivize living north of the fraser. But we've reached a breaking point and none of the very mild incentives on offer makes up for crushing mortgage payments and trying to raise your kids in a broom closet. The solution here is simple - build more highways and bridges into Vancouver and let people live where they want.